Wednesday, April 8, 2015

25 Years Later - Happy Anniversary Twin Peaks!

On Sunday April 8th 1990 Twin Peaks debuted and forever changed the way TV was made. I was very young, but I can still remember sitting in my bedroom glued to the television and feeling completely entranced by what I was seeing. Thinking of it brings one of my favorite Hunter S. Thompson quotes to mind from Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, "We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark - that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back."

Hunter was referring to the high of social and political changes in the 1960's, but I relate it to Twin Peaks because I remember TV of that time being so vanilla and formulaic. Shows like Murder She Wrote and Cagney and Lacey ruled our screens. TV movies of the week, often fluffy and righteous, were supposed to entertain us. Talk shows and soap operas dominated daytime. There was no internet! I think people were ready for something different, but perhaps not quite able to fully embrace the uniqueness that made Twin Peaks ahead of it's time. Within a few years everything changed and Twin Peaks was forgotten to all but it's loyal following. Fans knew it was special, but somehow it fell apart, time kept moving forward and TP seemed to be nothing more then a beautiful memory. That is until Netflix and the digital age brought Twin Peaks back and introduced it to a whole new crop of fans. Finally when the announcement was made in October 2014 that Twin Peaks was returning, TP fandom went platinum!

However with this past Sunday's news about David Lynch pulling out of the project, I think most TP fans are feeling a little raw. Everything was looking so positive but now who knows? Maybe it was never truly meant to be or maybe it can be resolved and continue as planned. Time will tell. I wrote a post this past fall called Will the Internet Kill Twin Peaks, in which I discussed the possibility that the hype of TP returning could end up ruining it in someway. However maybe now we can use that hype to save it. If fans put enough pressure on Showtime it might have an influence on the final outcome. I think if David Lynch doesn't direct the new episodes it just won't be the same. Much like finding the entrances to the White & Black lodges, if things happen at the right point in time a door can be opened!

Long Live Twin Peaks!You can sign the Save Twin Peaks Petition here ---Sign!!!

2 comments:

Very nice article!! I loved reading this. Anyway, I am also going to throw a grand party on my parent’s anniversary. 30 years ago they got married at traditional venues for weddings in Los Angeles. I want to celebrate their anniversary at the same location. I hope they’ll be happy after this party!